


Kerfuffle, huffle, & puffle

by Bundlino



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Adults, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bears, Candy, Fae & Fairies, Fairy! Felix, Fairy! Jeongin, Fluff and Angst, Food, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Magic, Magical Realism, Mystery, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Oblivious Bang Chan, Plot, Realm Hopping, Spells & Enchantments, Urban Fantasy, Witch! Chan, Witch! Changbin, Witch! Minho, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27294859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bundlino/pseuds/Bundlino
Summary: Between a raging Cyclops and giant Gummy Bears, love is like magic.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	Kerfuffle, huffle, & puffle

**Author's Note:**

> this is for the minchantober zine project! it was so exciting to make this and see so many talented stays, i really encourage people to check other artists/writers out because they're amazing~
> 
> my team member made art for this fic as well, check out her [piece](https://twitter.com/pastelglitcch/status/1322387919714148352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> its so pretty *_*
> 
> you can check out her other works [here](https://twitter.com/i/events/1304268185646977024)
> 
> and lastly, happy halloween!

Somewhere deep in the Witch University's Library, the magical moving staircase's upheaval nearly makes Chan lose his balance, stumbling on his feet as it connects briefly to a higher platform. 

"Repeat what you just said back to me," Changbin hops off the ride, silver hair flapping wildly off his forehead as he lands on the fifth floor. 

Chan follows suit, but his shorter red hair doesn't budge as much, jumping close behind him, "What would be the point in doing that?" 

"I'll let you figure it out."

He can't quite understand what that means as they start to stroll deeper into the darker chambers. Through a mind of its own, the transporting staircase retracts where they originally departed from it, finding a new path to go back to. The two Witches must be somewhere in the Historical Archives section — if his memory serves correct — because Changbin is searching for a particular text on Monster Nutrition. Just the other day, Chan walked back into their dorm to find that his roommate accidentally summoned a baby Cyclops from the Mythical Realm by mistake.

Their half eaten couch would never be the same. Luckily, Chan did call in a favor to have Minho look after the Cyclops while they were away, so the issue was handled for the time being and hopefully the damage would be minimized.

"That I wanted to do something for Minho?" he guesses.

"Yes, yes," Changbin gestures a hand nonchalantly, which is almost completely covered by his black robe that drapes over his normal clothes. "But what did you say before that."

"Oh yeah, Minho bought me a necklace," Chan looks down at the metallic item hanging from his neck, having a silver crescent pendant. Minho has the other half. When you combine the chains they're supposed to connect, and the moons are meant to overlap. 

"You're getting warmer, my good friend," Changbin laughs. Then he looks down at the wax candlestick in his hand, lighting it aflame with his mind.

His affinity for fire is remarkable.

Chan ponders what Changbin could possibly mean. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"You said that Minho gave you it as a gift," he clarifies. 

"That's true," and Chan was happy to receive it. Although he felt bad for not having anything in return. "What's wrong with that?"

The flame at the wick's end brightens annoyingly upon Chan's blissful ignorance. He almost wants to give him a light smack on the back of the head, but instead he patiently chooses to explain in more detail. "It wasn't your birthday when he got you that. In fact, your birthday isn't for another couple months. There aren't any near holidays worth celebrating either," he hints.

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, it just seems like out of no where," Changbin shrugs, though he is painfully aware of the real situation. "There wasn't a special occasion, and he just gave it to you. Now the both of you have matching pendants for no reason." He pretends to scratch his nose as if he already didn't realize something earlier. "Also, when you called him to take care of the Cyclops, he happily agreed with no questions asked. Almost too happily. Even though it's our problem to deal with."

"He's helped me more times than I can count," Chan smiles. "I don't know how to repay him."

There's an intense glare that Changbin is giving him, as if Chan hasn't eagerly helped Minho with potion brewing for a last minute exam in the middle of the night before. "Dude, no one just wakes up one day and decides to look after a baby Cyclops. Especially not when the Cyclops has an appetite that rivals a Chimera Hybrid Queen, and the temper tantrum of a thousand Wish-Granting Unicorns. Those horse mimics smash anything unprovoked."

Chan skeptically holds the pendant in his palm, as if the message is lost on him. Yet again. "What are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything," he waves the candle dangerously, but mostly because he finds it all comical at this point. 

Chan met Minho half a year ago, but throughout all that time they surprisingly had great chemistry from the start. Within the first week, Minho practically already lived at the dorm with them, almost always visiting with a new childhood story to tell. Such as when he stumbled upon his dad's grimoire collection only to learn he could clone a twin of himself to skip his foundational studies. Minho's mom learned of this about a month later and wasn't too happy about it — mostly his mom had been humorously disappointed that she couldn't tell her own son apart from the fake — but his dad did get a kick out of it since it meant Minho followed the spell's instruction perfectly.

Later that night from his own room, Changbin could overhear Chan shooting back with a tall tale of spotting a Werewolf at a camping site. This was false, since it was Changbin's camping site he rented for that weekend. Also, Chan had conveniently written Changbin out of the story altogether. What they actually saw under the moonlight was an enlarged wandering puppy that had somehow swallowed its owner's experimental elixir, and under the darkness it pounced on Chan to lick his face in a slobbery mess. They spent the remainder of the weekend returning the puppy to its rightful guardian, soon finding that the enhancement effect wears off after a while. He swore he heard Chan sniffle once the puppy was out of sight. When Changbin told Minho the truth, the other just laughed — tears in his eyes and all — thanking him for the real accuracy. 

Of course, when Changbin pondered afterwards, it made more sense that Minho most likely already knew of the lie, just without the extra details. Since it's rare for Witches to come out unscathed against such powerful equals — the Werewolves — most notably under a full moon's energy boost. And if Chan already didn't need to exaggerate things to impress Minho, then Changbin suspected nothing would drive him away. 

After all this time, it's possible that Minho gave him the pendant as a little playful jab without Chan's awareness. 

"I'm merely stating that Minho has the hots for you. And you're into him, too." Changbin is in a mood to cause chaos today, if the smirk on his face isn't proof enough. 

Time must have surely frozen. The sky certainly felt like it was falling. Chan had halted in place, his poor heart frantic and dropping to his stomach instantaneously, not taking another step. Changbin continued skipping onward through the ridiculously long aisle with his giggly outbursts, pretending not to notice his friend falling behind.

Under the dimness of the Witch University's Library, a pink warm tint eased into his ears. Mostly from a mix of the unexpected topic shift, as well as his romantic feelings getting exposed easily. Defending himself in this situation seems hopeless, but he still needs to deny it. It can't be true. Yet the possibility of a mutual adoration brings a warmness and flutter to his chest, one that he strongly feels when near Minho. He couldn't believe that Changbin was so casual and blatant about it. And then once it sinks further down into his brain, reality hits him all at once. 

Hurriedly, Chan runs after him to catch up. "You think Minho has the _what_ for me?" he raises his voice an octave higher, being a tad louder than usual without really noticing.

Changbin snorts. "Quiet down. You'll wake the Library Ghosts. You know how elitist they can get," rolling his eyes, he comes to a stop near a bookshelf. 

Some of the covers are glistening all over. Probably from leftover magical residue.

"But..." Chan furrows his brows, still processing the whole ordeal. "Minho likes me!? You just said it!"

His roommate whistles, impressed at Chan's belated self awareness. "That's quite the kerfuffle."

"I'm not even going to get into how you apparently think I have feelings for Minho. But even if I did _like_ him, then how do you know he likes me back?"

"I have eyesight," he says bluntly. "You both always sneak glances at each other when you think no one is looking."

"I don't do that," Chan defends a little too quickly.

"Yes, you do. Sometimes people are more transparent in their words and actions when in love. Sometimes they aren't. In Minho's case, it's painfully crystal clear. In your case, it's also..." He doesn't need to finish the sentence to get his point across.

The pinkness has now turned a full on red, even spreading to his cheeks. He's obviously flustered, and less importantly right now he also somewhat worries if he looks like a strawberry. Chan's heart is beating rapidly out of his chest, and his eyes aren't blinking. He doesn't know his next move. At all. "You're lying."

"Why would I be lying about this, Chan? I gain nothing from it."

"How am I supposed to know? I'm not you."

"That's fair, I guess," he chuckles, bringing himself to a relaxing sigh. "So in the end, who knows. Am I lying?" the signature trickster smile only grows further. "Or am I not?"

"Nothing you say is true, you're too full of yourself," the accusation falls a bit short though. 

Chan knows he's the only one lying to himself here. The thought of Minho liking him back did cross his mind before, but the fear of being wrong was always ever-present and frightening. 

"I'm only full of myself when it comes to Pyromancy and being correct. Everything else, I basically malfunction at half the time."

An imaginary truth bucket of cold water poured itself over Chan, shattering his reality and sending tingles all over his skin. Now he's the one malfunctioning. He decides to put a stop to the subject altogether. "I'm supposed to take Minho to the new candy place after this. We made plans to check out all the hot spots in the city. It doesn't matter what you tell me. Besides, I like our friendship."

"Oh, you mean the store that recently opened up in the Downtown District? Next to the Microscopic Muffins eatery that has all those _fancy_ lab tables," he wiggles his fingers for whimsical effect. "With all the white coats, oversized goggles, lab equipment, and high stool chairs that a certain someone can situate just right so they can sit a little too closely with their partner. The same Microscopic Muffins shop that you totally didn't go to with Minho on your unofficial date and neither of you ended up confessing, but you had a great time anyway? I had no idea," Changbin hums, acting like he didn't know this already. "Good luck with that," his sly grin indicates he's enjoying Chan's panic.

Suddenly Chan doesn't know what to do with his hands, opting for the casual fiddling, although an outsider can probably tell he's standing there awkwardly. "It wasn't a date," he mumbles quietly.

"Denial is often the first step to moving forward. I bet you guys also laughed so hard while fooling with the enlargement droppers, not even caring for proper measurements and growing a gigantic muffin in the process that towers over completely. It probably ended up being so expensive, too. That explains why you couldn't pay me back those coins for a week."

"Stop—"

"Judging by the pictures you two took there, it really seemed like a date. Minho had his goggles on his head, and you found it cute because you said it out loud when you thought I wasn't standing behind you on the couch the next day. When Minho was trying to find the right angle to take the photo in, you had an arm on his shoulder while posing with a peace sign, and you _know_ that Witch street is recommended for couples. Did I guess correctly about anything I've said today?"

"You didn't guess a thing."

"Sure I didn't."

"Believe it or not, I couldn't pay you back because I was robbed."

"Sure you were."

"You're unbearable." Chan doesn't mean it.

Deep down, Changbin knows he's being pushy once he flips through the magical book. However, he's also weighed the likelihood of his friends needing a little shove time and time again. Or a big one. For now, he feels like what he's done is enough. In that moment, he stumbles upon the appropriate spell with relative ease, inwardly smiling and taking it as a sign that the universe is ruling in his favor. 

His two friends are amazing people, and they deserve to be happy together.

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Inside Chan and Changbin's dorm, Minho is putting all his weight against one of the room doors. "So yeah after you all left I personally saw the Cyclops devour your whole fridge."

"You're a terrible liar," Changbin squints suspiciously at him.

"Okay fine, I ate everything inside your fridge first. Which wasn't much. And _then_ the Cyclops literally swallowed your fridge."

Changbin nods. "I believe that."

The room door seems to budge with a loud bang coming from the opposite side, but Minho keeps it in place with his entire backside and palms against it. "If I remember correctly, the Cyclops also got into your rooms and started eating clothes at random. I chased after the little guy in the living room, but as you can see it wasn't entirely easy to trap him in here."

It's true. They saw the mess. Chan steps into the hallway, "My clothes are all ruined!" He shows them the tattered shreds and fabric in his hands. 

Changbin holds back his laughter because right now is currently not the time for that. It would be very inappropriate of him, which is why he bites his lip in a desperate manner. "And then what else happened?"

Minho thinks for a second while his mind is all jumbled. "Right when I was about to slam the door shut, the Cyclops put up a good fight by placing his extreme muscle foot in the way. He stuck his tongue out and mocked me, so naturally I punched him with an enchanted fist. In hindsight, I should have known better. That was a bad idea. He probably cursed at me or something in his language and swung a wooden club at my face. Thankfully his aim is shit," he gestures with his chin over to the near wall that had a huge indention in it. 

"He's just a baby, Minho," Changbin fake frowns. "How can you punch him?"

"Yeah whatever, try saying that while not dying! And I didn't say I landed my punch. Aren't the babies like 5,000 years old? Anyway. That was when I finally closed the door. The nerve of that guy." Behind him it bangs again, and Minho's body is slightly pushed from the force, his one dangling earring swaying. He ignores it by reaffirming his weight. "If anything, he took it as a challenge and got more violent. My robe was yanked off somewhere in the process with all the kicking and arm flings. Do you know how hard it was for me to make that from scratch?"

It would explain why Minho is now only in his sweater and black jeans, and why his orange hair is a little ruffled up. 

"What happened right before we arrived?" Chan asks.

"Not much," Minho answers honestly while he takes another hit from the door booming. If it hurts, he doesn't show it. "The Cyclops quieted down for a bit until you came. Oh yeah, and I also hardened the sturdiness level of the door from wood to concrete with a basic spell. As you can see, it's not working—"

The Cyclops punches a hole into the concrete-hard door, revealing its thick muscle arm through it. Small chunks of material scatter to the floor and fly about.

Changbin and Chan had jumped at its sudden overwhelming strength while Minho's face went pale, horror written all over his face.

"He's so strong!" Chan attempts to help Minho with the door. 

"Alright, alright," Changbin nearly shrieks as he flips through his library book. "I think I found the solution."

"What does it say?!" Minho yells as the door is about to give, some of the hinges coming off after the Cyclops pounces on it multiple times.

"Right here," he points to the paragraph with a finger. "It says that the Cyclops is a natural enemy of the Witches. Their appetite is rarely satisfied with normal objects. They consume magic, which we all knew that already. However!" He skims further down the page. "If they eat too much magic, they get sleepy. Just like us with normal food. Quickly!" He dramatically points at Minho. "Answer this, was your robe enchanted with magic?"

"Yeah, a cloaking spell. To hide my location."

"As I suspected!" Changbin bellows triumphantly. "Most Witches do that for safety. Which would explain why the Cyclops quieted down a bit after he ate your robe."

Minho clicks his tongue, mumbling under his breath. "So I'm really never getting that back, huh.."

"Move aside," Changbin beckons for them to step away. 

Chan looks at Minho in the eyes, and they're both scared. But ultimately, they slowly nod to each other, lending their trust to Changbin. As they do as he instructs, Changbin swiftly pulls the oversized robe off Chan's neck, much to his complaint. Then once the heavy door finally slams down to the ground, the doorway is shrouded in a thick puff of chipped-off cement dust. They can't tell, but the possessions inside the room are probably destroyed. Using that window of time as a distraction, Changbin throws in the robe, and the Cyclops growls at the black cloth. 

Then, its sound dies down, almost drowsily.

"It worked instantly?" Chan questions, raising a brow.

"That's to be expected," Changbin assures, "the robes have been spelled for quite some time. Probably years since we started attending classes. The more powerful the magic, the better. But since we're technically on university grounds, that's a big risk. Older magic is a good substitute."

Partway through the explanation, Chan's attention had turned to Minho. Once Changbin finished talking, he spoke up. "Are you okay?" Chan gently put an arm on Minho's shoulder.

Minho nodded. "Yeah, are you okay?"

"Yeah."

Changbin gagged, pretending to be disgusted. "Alright, you're both okay. No need to be dramatic." Then he's rushing both of them out of the dorm entirely and into the big corridor of the dormitory building, almost like he's kicking them out.

Chan almost tripped over his steps. "What are you doing?"

"I can take it from here," Changbin smiled smugly. "You all can go do whatever it is you wanted to do. Thanks for your help by the way, Minho. I really appreciate it."

"For trashing your place? Uh, right. Don't mention it?" This comes out more like a question since he's just as confused as Chan about Changbin wanting to push them away so soon.

"You can't be serious, Binnie!" Chan attempts to come back in through the doorway, but Changbin doesn't let him. "Do you think I'm going to let you handle the Cyclops alone?"

"Relax," he pushes him easily out of the way, not too forcefully. "All I have to do is feed him magic, now that we know one of its strengths is also one of its weaknesses. No big deal."

Minho feels kind of bad. First he ate their food. Which honestly he always does. Then the Cyclops ate their fridge. And wrecked their stuff. "Are you sure about this? I feel like I could still help, if you give me the chance."

"No, no," Changbin dismisses. "You've done a lot for us as it is."

"But your food."

"Minho, you practically live here at this point," Changbin snorts. "You even pitch in for about half the groceries sometimes. And make us dinner on Fridays. If that's what you're worried about, don't be."

Whether Minho realizes it or not, the subconscious guilt is showing on his face. "It wasn't just that. Your stuff..."

"It was mostly Chan's," he glances over at his roommate, then back to Minho. "Honestly? Don't worry about it. I'm sure he'll forgive you." With that, he finally shuts the door closed on their faces.

"Chan," he looks into his eyes, "I'll pay you back. To replace all your things. Not just the clothes."

"You don't need to," he offers a smile to Minho. "You're not the one that ate the refrigerator."

A muffled voice from behind the door agrees. "Exactly Chan! Tell him!"

They stare at the door, bewildered. And then Minho laughs.

Chan kicks the door, and the voice can be heard further away whining. "Ow ow ow."

"Fine, I'll let it go. For now," Minho barely contains another light snicker. He notices some dust on the shoulder of Chan's white v-neck sweater and wipes it off for him. "So what now?"

Chan dips his hands into his jean pockets nervously, then he shrugs. "Candy?"

Minho's face lights up, warm smile and crescent eyelids melting away at Chan's heart. "Sure, let me just..." His palm shines a brilliant lime-green, and he drags it across the air space between them, opening a warped portal. _"Pallio zeli,"_ he commands, and the portal itself audibly burps out a pair of garments into his hands. 

Two short cloaks to be exact, both dipped thoroughly beforehand in the dye of night sky and gleaming in astral stars of protection. It's minimal, but it'll do.

He hands one to Chan.

"What? Did you buy this?"

Nodding, Minho is already finished adjusting the cloak around his neck, tightening the laces ever so gently. "There's a special discount if you buy two," he looks over to the hovering portal. "I also heard The Blue Sun shop from the other side of town has instant delivery."

It slowly recedes on itself, and the green gateway closes.

Chan gawks at where it once was, being ignorant to the new ways of online purchasing. "Magic sure has advanced."

"I don't think that's it. You're just old." He laughs at him, though Chan doesn't feel directly insulted. Their months of teasing each other combined with Minho's high spirits energizes him all the more. 

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Disbelief is a rather underwhelming way to describe it. Betrayal seems more fitting.

In a good way.

To put it simply, spacial magic has been a relatively useful tool in the past. Great for misleading opponents or providing entertaining pranks. Although its technique is a bit too advanced to master at their current level of magic. Which is why it's all the more surprising when the tiny candy store on the corner of one of the busiest purple-painted streets of Downtown District has a massive interior expansion. 

The ceiling is ridiculously high inside, allowing for its enormous selection of pink shelves, containing sugary sweets and alluring mysteries. 

They're still standing shoulder to shoulder on the entrance mat, completely in awe. Chan notices the twinkling stars in Minho's eyes as they look around. For some reason, the shop had an unexpected cozy feeling attached to it. Perhaps it's because of the yellow flooring patterned in sparse taffy-colored brick. Or perhaps it's the soft fuchsia walls decorated in green vine, running along the surface to intricately form circular spirals, with blossoming chocolate roses sprouting in their respective centers. 

From the sudden jolt movement to his side, he can feel Minho physically bump into him. "Chan, look!"

Minho is pointing towards the ground, and it was so subtle that Chan didn't even notice at first. He wouldn't have believed it. He's staring directly at it and still doesn't process the image. It appears that the vines have a mind of their own in this place, crawling towards them with two pink items latched on to their beautiful thorns. He's unaware of such strange occurrences ever taking place normally. 

After getting into distance, the vines immediately branch up from the floor to their height level, weaving and crossing together in a natural web, with the items in question becoming more obvious. The plant life is literally offering them two pink bags, one for each of them. 

"Is this supposed to be a greeting?" Chan asks but accepts the bag anyway. 

Once Minho reluctantly grabs a bag, the vines lower back to the ground, returning to their original spots on the walls. He opens it up, peering inside. It's empty.

"I think this is supposed to be a candy bag, but..." Minho sounds unsure. 

Chan looks inside his, and he instantly notices the sheer blackness within. More spacial magic. These candy bags have bottomless pits. The curiosity does float about in his brain, so he reaches a hand inside the candy bag. 

It's exactly as he thought. There really is no end, despite its small size.

"Is no one around?" Minho steps off the door rug, Chan following close behind.

They enter one of the many aisles, and there doesn't seem to be anyone around. However, the strange items on the shelves pique his interest. Immediately on his left are candy jars filled with what appear to be rainbow gum balls. Chan hasn't had one of these since he was a kid. 

Minho squints at the sticker label to read the description. "It says each one holds a surprise." He looks to Chan in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"You've never had a gum ball?"

"Never even heard of it."

Chan shakes his head in amusement. This is absolutely tragic, but he's already loosening the lid on the jar. "Here," he drops one onto Minho's palm, "try it."

They each take one, Chan's is dark blue and Minho's a light purple. The stream of childhood memories floods back to Chan. One time he got a thirty second superpower jumping ability, and he nearly hit his head on the ceiling much to his mother's dismay. No need for a trampoline when he could just gamble his luck on one of those. This other time with friends in his early teen years, it gave him the power to briefly shoot heat vision out of his eyes. That same night they made smores. 

He wonders what ability it'll give them today, and Minho is already blowing a purple bubble with equal proporiton to his head. 

It's tempting, but Chan is mature. He's mature. He doesn't have the urge to pop Minho's bubble. 

Actually, he does. 

Chan does a simple zap spell with his mind, wild bolts ricocheting, and the gum bubble bursts on Minho's face, its texture partially covering over his cheek and nose. Minho merely blinks and returns the favor twice as hard at Chan's bubble, using his own zap spell, causing Chan's to splatter almost all over his head and neck.

Minho's hard laughter echos through the building, except Chan's eyebrows raise when it hits his ears. It makes him also crack up, because the gum ball's effect influenced Minho's voice to become high-pitched as if it were on helium. The quality of his tone being lighter than air. Their fits of giggles intermixing.

"You sound like a chipmunk."

And just as Chan says that, a little leaf on a stem sprouts atop his bright vermillion hair. 

Minho points at it, barely able to contain himself as he clutches at the sides of his rib. "You," his acute wheeze makes it harder, "you look like a strawberry!" he backs up into a shelf, and a jar shatters to the floor. 

They both gasp, the gum ball's effect disappearing on both of them. This container had a bunch of candy canes which are currently thrown in various directions. 

Chan reads the writing still stuck onto one of the glass pieces. "Says here these are Boomerang Candy Canes. What's a Boomerang Candy Cane?"

Gently, Minho picks one up. "So we just," he pauses, not sure of his conclusion, "fling these?" He throws it casually to the end of the aisle. Contrary to falling to the floor, it actually keeps going. And going. And going. Not losing velocity. Until it turns a corner and out of sight. 

A large puff of pink smoke appears before them, with a figure crossing their arms in the outline until the smokecloud disappears. "What are you two doing in my shop?"

They practically shrink in on themselves, holding onto each other for support. 

"I asked you a question," the Fairy's wings are bold and confident, shimmering off his shoulder blades to match his wavy pink hair. His shirt and pants are white. A long dark-green apron swoops over his front, tying around his neck. "You made a mess."

"It was my fault—" Minho is interrupted by the employee's sudden hand raise. 

The Fairy sniffs the air, visibly repulsed, and quickly pinches ends of his nose. "One of you smells strangely similar to Cyclops Slobber," his voice is nasal at the moment. "With a hint of lingering Cyclops Hatred Essence."

Chan's pupils dart to Minho. 

"Listen," Minho mumbles, "I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm Jeongin," the Fairy declares. "If you're going to step into my shop, I recommend you be squeaky clean." He looks down at the broken jar. "That includes not destroying my stuff."

"I'm Chan, this is Minho, and sorry. We'll pay for it."

"Of course you will. Wouldn't have it any other way." Jeongin's hands start to shroud themselves in pink clouds. "First thing's first," he shoots a cloud over to Minho and it evaporates upon touching him. "Got rid of the stench." 

Chan notices he smells sweet now. Not that he could actually smell the Cyclops Slobber, or whatever, before. That was very hard to pick up on, and Fairies had superior senses to Witches.

Jeongin shoots another cloud to the shards on the floor, making it disappear. It seems like this Fairy's magic spell signature are characteristically of pink clouds.

"Come along," Jeongin's wings buzz, and the two follow after giving one another looks of stumped perplexity. "I'll give you the grand tour."

His wings are quite stunning. They trail fairy dust in their presence, leaving a rememberance of a powerful being, sparkles of light that float and dawdle to those who are lucky enough to catch a glimpse. 

"Over here we have pop rocks," Jeongin grabs a small bag from a shelf and throws it behind him for Chan to catch. "Eat some, it'll shoot out disco ball lights at your will. Not very useful, in my opinion, but fun."

He comes over to another item and throws it behind his shoulder. Minho opens up his bag, letting it catch in there.

"That was a fire fun dip. When you open it up," Jeongin states. "Self explanatory."

They come to the next station over. More precisely, it's a machine of sorts. 

"Is that cotton candy?" Minho hovers over the Fairy's shoulder, practically drooling.

"Where I'm from we call it fairy floss," Chan flicks on the switch, and the machine automatically ravels the sugary strings together. "Supposedly the original version was created by Fairies themselves."

Before he can continue, Jeongin butts in. "Actually, that's true. Fairy floss is meant to contain a special ingredient. One that Witches can't obtain." His wings buzz again. "At least, not here in the Witch Realm."

"Oh?" Chan is intrigued, and the machine stops to signal it's finished. "What would that be?"

"Nightmares."

Minho is too busy serving himself up some cotton candy to care. Chan on the other hand just stares, "What?"

"Yeah, Dream Essence is the main ingredient. Nightmares are a good substitute, depending on the type you want to make. That was before Humans and the like discovered it. Naturally, since Dream Essence doesn't exist outside the physical presence of my home, no one else can create it."

Chan hasn't blinked in several seconds. Meanwhile, Minho is eating away at the fluffy cloud, making huge dents.

"Fairy floss is basically the foundation of the Fairy Realm," he adds. "Without it, we wouldn't exist."

"I'm confused. What does that mean exactly?"

Jeongin gestures for them to keep moving as there is more to discover in the candy shop. They follow. "Where I live, there are different types of Fae. Much like it's well known that there are a variety of Witches here. It's the same concept, really. The original creators of the Fairy Realm are some of the most powerful of my kind — the Weavers. As in, the weavers that connect the fabric of time and space. Fairies that gather Dream Essence are known as Collectors."

"So then," Chan points at him politely. "What category would you be in?"

The young Fairy looks back at him, smiling. "That's a secret."

"But where do you draw your power from?" Chan asks. "I've never quite seen a magic like yours."

"Of course, there are more than just Weavers and Collectors. If Witches draw their magic from Mother Nature and the other elements," Jeongin thinks aloud, "then you could think of mine as something of an anamoly. My magic draws on very specific things." He glances over at Minho and Chan, and perhaps he lingers one second too long on the small space between the two as they walk, rather implying a specific topic. He smiles again. "Emotions, for instance."

Minho starts choking a bit. "Okay! I've finished mine and Chan's cotton candy. What else is there?"

Jeongin tries not to laugh at the change in atmosphere. "Well we have honey drops that melt in your mouth, elastic gum tape that is almost impossible to get out of..."

Chan and Minho look at him strangely. 

"What? It's edible."

"We'll pass," Chan says.

"Oh," Minho points behind the cash register. "What about that over there?"

Jeongin sees the item he's pointing at and smiles widely, instantly flying over behind the register. "This is the Spinning Lollipop. With eight different colors. Whatever it lands on tells something about yourself."

It's giant, standing on its stick. Indeed, the Spinning Lollipop is much like a wheel of fortune. But instead, it has whirls of sweet pinks and calm blue and light greens and pale yellows. You name it.

The Fairy looks over at them. "Why don't one of you try turning it?"

Minho gently pushes Chan to the front. "You go."

He stammers slightly. "Uh, okay," Chan calms himself a bit and focuses in on the wheel. Or rather, the lollipop. With his mind, he forces it to spin fast.

The color whirlpool sets in motion at an alarming speed. It feels like an entrancing hyponosis zone.

After a moment, it comes to a halt. Landing on pink. 

Jeongin nods, more to himself than them. He doesn't say anything at first. "Right, that's to be expected," he says lowly.

"It landed on pink? What does that mean?" Chan questions. 

The Fairy shrugs. "Secret."

"You and your secrets," Minho sighs. 

"Not to worry," Jeongin assures. With a puff of his magic, a door suddenly appears by itself on the wall. There's a sign on it: Back Door. "You won a trip down the chocolate river. That is, if you want it."

They look at each other. Then back at Jeongin. Simultaneously speaking. "Huh?"

"Think of it like a rollercoaster ride," he elaborates. 

"A rollercoaster ride?" Chan repeats. "Yeah, okay."

"What?" Minho's eyes widen. "I can't do that."

"Relax," Jeongin laughs. "It's just a steady river ride. That's all."

"Where did the door even come from?" Minho deflects, narrowing his eyes. "That wasn't there before."

Jeongin smiles yet again. It's very subtle this time. "You can do a lot with Spacial Magic."

Chan grabs onto Minho's arm, pulling him. "Come on, what's the worst that can happen?"

Minho softens up when he looks down at Chan's hand on him. "...Okay."

"Have fun you two," Jeongin winks. 

When they open the door, the light is so blinding. And then it shuts behind them on its own. The world before them becomes visible. And literally, it's a whole new world. One moment they were in a candy store, and the next they're in a large cyan meadow. 

"Woah," Minho is absolutely ecstatic. Chan can see it clearly. 

As for Chan himself, he's impressed. He doesn't know how this is possible. Or what exact magic that Fairy used for this to exist. 

They take a moment to collect themselves. Aside from the meadow, they notice the chocolate river some ways off. Many trees in the distance as well, but there's something off about them. Rather than normal looking trees, they're white and thinner in comparison. Some cyan. Branching off from the ground, and on the ends of their stems are... lollipop swirls. 

This is definitely not the Witch Realm. 

"Where... are we?" Minho can't help but ask. 

Chan smiles, whispering. "No idea."

They follow the yellow brick road path downhill and end up at the end of a small yellow bridge. The bridge itself is being propped up by giant chocolate bars, which are conveniently unwrapped halfways. Minho secretly chips off a piece and eats it. 

"How are we supposed to go down this river?" Chan scratches his head. 

And then, like magic, a giant marshmallow falls from the sky, landing directly in front of them on the river. It floats steadily. Their mouths drop to the floor. 

"What the..." Minho chips off another piece of chocolate bar. "This place is so strange. I like it."

Chan takes the first step onto the marshmallow from where he's standing on the small bridge. "You coming?"

Minho gulps. "I'm not sure if I can."

"It's not that big of a step," Chan smiles. "Here," and he extends his hand out for him. 

His eyes widen. There's a small time of hesitation, but Minho grabs onto Chan's hand in the end. 

With some teamwork, they manage to both get on the marshmallow ride and sit down on it comfortably. It's big enough for the two of them. Minho's face is a little blushed, but it's hard to tell. 

Like magic, once again, the marshmallow sets off by itself. And they're going down the chocolate river. 

Opening up his pink abyss bag, Minho pulls out some chocolate twigs, biting into it. 

Chan laughs, "Where'd you get that?"

"Found it on the way over here when you weren't looking." Minho's chewing on one side of his cheek, which is puffing out, and Chan inwardly finds it cute. In the next moment, Minho offers a chocolate twig to him. "Want a bite?"

He smiles. Then he leans over in front of Minho's face. The close proximity makes Minho's breath hitch. Chan stares into his eyes for a bit, then bites off a huge chunk of the chocolate twig. "Thanks."

"Eat the whole thing, why don't you?" It's sarcasm. 

"Maybe I will."

There's a small ripple in the chocolate river. Hardly noticeable, but it can still be felt. Deep in the ground. It happens again. This time bigger. Louder. 

"Do you hear that?" Minho looks around. 

Where they currently are, new shrubbery have started to appear along the edges of the river. With candy flowers, pretty and delicate to the touch. The scenery begins to transform, with new blue tree trunks popping up, and golden apples hanging from their purple leaves. 

There's another thud in the ground. More like a tremor. An earthquake? If that's the correct way to describe it. 

Chan even loses his balance a bit, but manages to maintain it. "I certainly feel it now."

Minho's mouth opens wide, excited. "Look!" he points.

Right in front of them. A creature. Something that they never thought they'd see in their lives. 

A giant red Gummy Bear. More than double their height. Literally running away from another Fairy that's flying after it. Its footsteps are distracting, causing the marshmallow to sway after every shake. Chan and Minho latch onto each other for safety, intruding on one another's personal space without realizing. And when they turn their heads briefly to each other, every so slightly, they quickly look anywhere else. And maybe they avoid eye contact for the next several moments in this awkward position. 

"Hey!" a deep voice yells. "Get back here!" Then the Fairy with that deep voice looks down below, noticing them. "Oh, we have visitors!"

The giant Gummy Bear immediately stops at the mention of visitors. And it turns to look at them two. Oddly, it sits down on its behind. Showing good behavior. 

The mini earthquakes stop. They both let out an exhale of relief. Chan and Minho realize they're still holding onto each other, and they quickly part. 

Chan clears his throat. 

The new Fairy waves a finger, swirling it in the air while he's afloat. Sparks of white emit from his hand, and suddenly Minho and Chan start floating off the marshmallow. The magic gently sets them down on the blue grass, right next to a lollipop tree. Its colorful swirls dangle off the branches, right above them. 

"Hey there!" The warm voice calls, and he lands on the ground. "Welcome to the Fairy Realm."

They're in the Fairy Realm. Chan doesn't know how that's possible.

The giant red Gummy Bear claps in applause. 

Minho looks over at Chan, with sparkles in his eyes. "I want that Gummy Bear," he whispers. "Not to eat it obviously, but it's so cute."

Chan can't help but smile, lightly laughing. 

The Fairy walks over to them, grinning big. "Name's Felix." His hair is pink, similar to Jeongin's. 

"You said we're in the Fairy Realm?" Chan wonders. "Are you lying?"

"Well technically it's like an inner pocket dimension between the two," Felix waves off. "Details, details."

"Is he your friend?" Minho gestures with his chin over to the Gummy Bear, still sitting down. 

"Oh, you mean Gummy Gums? He's shy," Felix's laugh is like a roaring rumble. "I'm the Collector around here. I was just watering my plants, but Gums over here ran off in excitement because he felt the presence of Witches."

"You're a... Collector?" Chan repeats. 

"I sure am! Also a Gardener. I use both titles proudly."

"So you must do the same kind of magic as Jeongin?" he asks further.

"Sort of. Not really. Jeongin is what we know as a Dreamer Fairy, where we're from."

Suddenly it all makes sense. Jeongin must have built this place, anchoring it to both realms. With his power, he's able to conjure up all types of things in here, and Felix must be in charge of maintaining it. 

Felix hums. "So are you two, like, dating?"

The onsetting shade of red on both their faces is similar to Gummy Gums. Minho quietly begins to answer. "We—"

The Fairy realizes his mistake. "Ah, sorry! My bad! I just... assumed. Usually when customers spin the wheel and land on pink, it means..." he drifts off, gesturing vaguely with his hands. "And also the person next to them as well, you know."

Suddenly, Felix whips up a grey rain cloud in his palm and starts physically wringing the water out of it, its rain droplets scattering about on the budding flowers below.

Minho and Chan stare at it in wild amazement. It's extremely strange. But somehow fitting in this place. 

"We can talk more in a bit," Felix smiles at them, and then he vanishes the raincloud. "After I finish watering some more areas. Isn't that right, Gummy?"

The Bear nods enthusiastically. Felix flaps his wings and takes off. Soon enough, the Bear gets up on its short legs and chases after him. Shaking the ground again as it leaves. Until the stomps of its feet echo less and less, becoming unhearable eventually. 

Chan's heart is still thumping in his chest. Incredibly loud. He's sure it's not because of the environment. But rather, because of the person next to him. 

Opening up his bag again, Minho takes out more items. "Want a bite?" and he's offering Chan some more things he probably shoved into the bag when Jeongin wasn't looking.

With the way Minho speaks. With the way Minho is so effortlessly funny and cute. Chan smiles at him like he's his whole world. Out of the sweets in Minho's hands, he picks out a small piece of chocolate. "Sure."

They relax onto the lollipop tree's trunk, simply eating comfortably and admiring the view. The view of the white fluff balls in the sky. Of the setting sun. Of the wind that sways the meadow and their hair. 

"About earlier..." Minho starts.

"It's okay," Chan finishes chewing. "I kind of needed to hear that. From Changbin. And then from two random strangers we just met."

Minho startles, looking at him. 

Chan shrugs. "I've kind of had a crush on you for a long time. I fell hard, actually," he corrects hurriedly. "Maybe I'm a little too obvious about it that other people can easily pick up on it."

The Boomerang Candy Cane from earlier somehow got inside the pocket dimension, finally returning to the original thrower and hitting the back of Minho's head. It forces him to drop his candy into the bag on reflex. It doesn't hurt, and Minho doesn't even flinch. "You..? Like me?"

He speaks softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yes."

Now Minho finally blinks. A couple times. He opens his mouth to say something, but after a realization, he gently exhales. "I mean, I knew that. But, it's different to actually hear you say it out loud."

He also had the vague idea about Minho, truthfully. "Of course you don't have to like me back. I don't want to pressure you, either. I just figured you deserved to know. You're one of the closest people in my life." Chan's voice is a little shaky from nerves. It's more noticeable than before.

"I fell for you a long time ago as well," Minho confirms. "And for the record, you're also very important to me."

He's taken aback, with immense shock expressing itself. "Wait, what?" 

"You didn't know?"

"I didn't want to jump to conclusions," he reasons. "But—"

Minho leans, kissing him on the cheek. Then the biggest smile slowly appears on Chan's face. And on Minho's as well. Without so much as looking down, their hands intertwine on the grass, in between the small space that separates them. 

But in reality, maybe they never felt that separated to begin with. Even if their palms might be a bit hot right now.

"Wait until Changbin hears about this," Minho laughs nervously. 

"It's probably not the big love confession he was expecting."

"Fairies can figure out my feelings with a glance. And then a ridiculous spinning lollipop wheel also figures it out. It's creepy, but even magic itself is rooting for us," Minho scoffs. "I think that's a pretty big confession."

"Hard to argue against that," he admits. "Come to think of it, Changbin's probably wrestling the Cyclops right about now."

"Who do you think would win?"

"My bet's on the Cyclops," Chan smiles at Minho. "What about you?"

"The Cyclops," he laughs, leaning his head on Chan's shoulder. "Definitely."

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact: i personally wasnt satisfied with this chapter ending, so i had decided to continue the story and reach a final conclusion that i can be proud of
> 
> i plan on releasing chapter 2 in november and chapter 3 in december (but as always, life happens, so we'll see)
> 
> thank you for understanding, and thank you for reading! if you like minchan then maybe check out my other stuff! there's a lot of minchan content other writers & artists have made for this [zine project](https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/19IbtiqeLTSfzrlp5rdl1MIirtU1-dK5z) as well, so if you like minchan then i'm sure you'll find many you can enjoy! 
> 
> ♡


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